Ustream.tv working on a Qik killer, maybe

Under the presumption that the video above didn’t use any 3G/WiFi vs EDGE trickery, Ustream.tv is apparently working on a mobile streaming application with some pretty phenomenal efficiency. No, the world probably doesn’t need another mobile streaming app / service combo – the big three, Qik, Flixwagon and Kyte, do a pretty good job of filling the need. Ustream.tv must have missed that memo however, because it is supposedly in the process of pushing its own solution out to market and from the looks of the demo video above, it might make a bit of a splash. We’ve pretty much tossed out the idea of mobile streaming in our congested area of the northeast; AT&T’s 3G is just too hammered and slow to even attempt it. Last time we tried Qik in fact, we built up a delay of over one minute (in about 90 seconds of recording) and just gave up. By moving the bulk of the transcoding process to the hardware however, Ustream.tv has supposedly reduced the amount of bandwidth needed for streaming video significantly. The only other info available for the time being is that the app is reportedly capable of streaming from the front or rear camera of handsets equipped with both, and that it does not support viewer-originated text chat like its competitors do. Lack of viewer chat is a bit of a bummer but then again, what’s the point if your viewers are commenting on something that you streamed three minutes earlier? Consider our interest piqued.